1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pool covers, and more particularly to swimming pool covers which are floatable upon the entire water surface.
2. Prior Art
A variety of pool covers are known to the art. Prior to the rising concern for energy conservation in recent years, covers for pools were primarily designed to prevent dirt, leaves and so forth from entering the pools during periods of filled or drained non-use. Such covers often were designed to entirely cover the pool above the water surface, and often were held in place by being lashed along the pool wall or about the pool exterior.
Such covers have been found to be inadequate, particularly for large, community swimming pools, in preventing substantial heat loss and water evaporation. As concern has grown for reducing the significant amount of energy required to heat swimming pools, some pools have converted to solar heating which further increases the need for a pool cover construction which will substantially prevent heat loss and water evaporation.
Among some recent types of pool covers are those which utilize light weight, buoyant water impervious materials to provide a swimming pool cover which floats upon the water surface yet which is easily removed. Such pool covers are taught, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,748,664 and 3,916,457. However, the covers disclosed by these patents are designed primarily to prevent water evaporation and hence undesirable humidity in an indoor swimming pool enclosure. The light weight of such covers incurs the serious problem, if used outdoors, in that a sufficiently brisk wind can lift or crumple parts of the cover by peeling back the cover edges which are held upon the water only by the relatively weak water-to-cover surface force. This lack of wind resistance is especially acute when covers are designed for large, institutional swimming pools whose size often requires several covers for complete pool coverage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a buoyant pool cover which substantially prevents liquid evaporation and heat loss.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a floatable cover which has increased resistance to wind lift in outdoor use, yet which is easily removed from the pool.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a floatable cover with a strengthened edge to prevent tearing thereof.